Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration Hardware for Electricity Grids Will Reach $5.4 Billion in Annual Market Value by 2023, Forecasts Navigant Research

The massive destruction of electric infrastructure from storms, such as Tropical Cyclone Sandy in 2012 and the Alabama tornado outbreaks of April 2011, has triggered customer-driven demand for faster service restoration. Fault location, isolation, and service restoration (FLISR) systems combine hardware, software, telecommunications, and grid engineering to decrease the duration of outages as well as the number of customers affected. Click to tweet: According to a new research brief from Navigant Research, the worldwide market for FLISR hardware will grow from $2.4 billion annually in 2014 to nearly $5.4 billion in 2023.

'FLISR is one of the more effective applications of distribution automation technology, and can noticeably improve utility performance metrics such as the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) and the system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI),' says Bob Lockhart, research director with Navigant Research. 'Improving these indicators can lead directly to improved customer satisfaction and reduced penalties by industry regulators, giving FLISR a quantifiable return on investment.'

In the United States, investment grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded significant rollouts of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems. Between 2009 and 2012, more than $1 billion was spent on distribution assets, including approximately $300 million on automated switches that could be used for FLISR. While utilities are genuinely interested in smart metering, according to the report, they also see those AMI deployments as a means to acquire the necessary network for distribution automation applications such as FLISR.

The report, 'Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration', analyzes the global market opportunity for FLISR applications. It examines the market drivers and barriers that are affecting FLISR deployments worldwide, including government funding, regulatory reforms, and standards adoption. Global market forecasts for distribution automation and FLISR revenue are segmented by region. The report also provides an in-depth explanation of the various functionalities of FLISR, as well as an illustration of how a FLISR scheme works. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

About Navigant Research

Navigant Research, the dedicated research arm of Navigant, provides market research and benchmarking services for rapidly changing and often highly regulated industries. In the energy sector, Navigant Research focuses on in-depth analysis and reporting about global clean technology markets. The team's research methodology combines supply-side industry analysis, end-user primary research and demand assessment, and deep examination of technology trends to provide a comprehensive view of the Smart Energy, Smart Utilities, Smart Transportation, and Smart Buildings sectors. Additional information about Navigant Research can be found at www.navigantresearch.com.

About Navigant

Navigant is a specialized, global expert services firm dedicated to assisting clients in creating and protecting value in the face of critical business risks and opportunities. Through senior level engagement with clients, Navigant professionals combine technical expertise in Disputes and Investigations, Economics, Financial Advisory and Management Consulting, with business pragmatism in the highly regulated Construction, Energy, Financial Services and Healthcare industries to support clients in addressing their most critical business needs. More information about Navigant can be found at www.navigant.com.

* The information contained in this press release concerning the report, 'Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration,' is a summary and reflects Navigant Research's current expectations based on market data and trend analysis. Market predictions and expectations are inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from those contained in this press release or the report. Please refer to the full report for a complete understanding of the assumptions underlying the report's conclusions and the methodologies used to create the report. Neither Navigant Research nor Navigant undertakes any obligation to update any of the information contained in this press release or the report.